Toothed wheel-driving mechanism for motor vehicles



P. DAIMLER TOOTHED WHEEL DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed May 27 117 206722 222" fauljaimzer Patented July 22,1924.

UNITED STATES PAUL DAIMLER, CF CANNS'IATT, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 DAIIVILER-MOTOREN- GESELLS'OHAFT,- OF UNTERTURKHEIWZ, GERMTANY, AJCORPO RATION OF GERMANY.

TOO'IHED WHEEL-DRIVING IVIECHANISM IJIOIOB VEHICLES.

Application filed May 27,1919. Serial Ne. 300,222.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, PAUL DAIMLER, a citizen of Germany, and residingat Cannstatt, Wurttemberg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Toothed Wheel-Driving Mechanism for Motor Vehicles (for which I have filed applications in Germany, May 10, 1918, patented September 25, 1918, No. 309,204; Czechoslovakia, May 8, 1919, patented September 18, 1920, No. 2,343; Austria, May 9, 1919, patented June 10, 1921, No. 84,314; Italy, May 19, 1919, not yet patented; France, May 26, 1919, patented January 3, 1921, No. 518,436; Spain, June 5, 1919, patented August 4, 1919, No. 69,999; Switzerland, June .13, 1919, patented November 1, 1920, No. 87,123; Hungary, June 16, 1919, patented April 23, 1920, No. 77,345; Holland, June 24, 1919, patented August 23, 1921, No. 5,972; patented January 3, 1921, No. 27,093; Sweden, June 30, 1919, patented September 14, 1922, No. 52,790; Norway, June 30, 1919, patented January 16, 1922, No. 33,907; Belgium, September 26, 1919, Patent No. 282,465; England, June 24, 1920, Patent No. 146,156; and Poland, July 6, 1920, not yet patented), of which the following is a specification.

In motor vehicles, toothed wheel driving mechanisms in which the driving wheels of the vehicle are driven by means of separate shafts and in which the thrust beams forming casings for said shafts are fixed on the chassis by means of a ball joint are known. In a driving mechanism of the said type the differential gear is usually placed between the rear axle and the ball joint. With such an arrangement the casing of the difierential gear and the adjoining shaft sleeves are subjected to considerable bending stress and thrust exerted by the rigid driving mechanism so that a frequent replacement of many parts is necessary.

This drawback is avoided in the present invention, according to which, .the differential gear of the driving mechanism of the type referred to is placed in the centre of the ball joint, whereby the ball joint forms at the same time the casing for the differential gear. In this arrangement the shaft sleeves and the casings are subjected only to tensional and pushing stress so that the rigid mass represented by the drlving Denmark, June 27, 1919,

mechanism may be made considerably lighter thanin the hitherto known construcof this type with parallel driving shafts.-

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on'the line 3-3 of 2 and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional plan view of a motor vehicle provided with the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.:

In the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1 the shaft a, bymeans of the bevel wheels I) and 0, drives the cross pin (Z of a difierential gear, the bevel wheels f and g of which are in engagement with the bevel wheels h and z' fixed on the inclined driving shafts 7c and m.

Firmly secured to the journal of the shaft 64 is the cup n of a ball. joint the centre of which corresponds with the centre of the A cross pin of the differential gear. At the points at which said cross pin passes through the cup a suitable slits or openings 41. are provided on the latter. is arranged the movable cup 0 in which are journaled the cross pin (Z of the difierential gear and the two inclined driving shafts k and m. The pivotal centre of the cup 0 coincides with the centre of the cross pin of the differential gear; The ball joint is thus capable of swinging about the transverse axis of the differential gear and also at right angles in a plane lying in the trans verse axis. The latter movement is rendered possible by the openings n of the fixed cup n.

In the construction represented by Figure 2 the shaft a,,by means of bevel wheels 5 and 0, drives the cross pin d of the diiferential gear, the differential wheels f and g of which are in mesh with bevel wheels'h and 2' carried by the two parallel driving shafts is and m. In this construction also the cup- On thefixed cup at of the driving shafts 7c and m. With this arrangement the cup 0 is capable of swinging in the same Way as in the first construc tion.

In comparison With the arrangements already known the above described constructions have the advantage that it is not necessary to interpose in the driving shaft a special universal joint as the latter is'replaced by the members or cups n and 0, in Which the dift'erential gear and the shafts driving thewvheels of the vehicle are journaled. The invention also offers over the ordinary constrnctions-the advantage that the angle of inclination of one part of a shaft to the other is not limited inany Way.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a toothedvvheel driving mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination of a hollow ball joint, one member of Which is adapted to be: connected With a chassis, sleeves connected withthe other member of said ball joint, driving shafts located in said sleeves and a differentialgear locatedwithin and enclosed by said ball joint and having its. central point coincident With the spherical centre ofsaid ball joint.

2. In a toothed Wheel driving mechanism formotor vehicles, the combination of a hollowball joint comprising a fixed member member and projecting through the slits of saidfixed member, a bevel-gear differential located Within and enclosed by said ball joint and carried by saidcross-pins, said differentialhavin'g a central point coincident With the spherical centre of said ball j oint, sleeves connected with the movablemember thereof, and driving shafts in said sleeves operatively connected With said differential.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name in presence of tWo Witnesses.

PAUL DAIMLER. Witnesses ROBERT BRUHLER, WALTER v SOHWERDSFYER. 

